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History

The Virginia Public Access Project grew out of a joint effort by the state's five largest newspapers to track campaign contributions.

The effort was vital because Virginia is one of a handful of states with no contribution limits. Anything goes - as long as candidates identify donors who give more than $100. The system was built upon the premise that by making donor information public, candidates will police themselves to avoid the perception that they are beholden to one particular donor or to donors in general. The flaw, of course, was the public had no meaningful access to the information contained in disclosure reports, which at the time were crammed in file cabinets at the State Board of Elections.

In 1997, David Poole took a leave of absence from his job as a political reporter for The Roanoke Times to build a campaign finance database for the newspapers. Poole envisioned transforming the database into a public resource that would provide meaningful public access. Poole recruited a Board of Directors who shared his vision, and VPAP was incorporated in April 1997.

VPAP transformed campaign finance disclosure in Virginia. Over the years, VPAP has expanded its mission to connect Virginians with nonpartisan information about politics.